"I have to say it: if it weren't for that money and if it weren't for that attitude, this city would LOVE Andre Iguodala. LOVE him. Because he plays defense and hustles. His only problem is that his opinion of himself is higher than what a lot of the fans think it ought to be. And that's what sets people up for disappointment. Because he's NOT a superstar. He's not that guy. A guy who'll play a little defense for you? He's that guy." --Marc Farzetta

Yeah, he's just the guy who plays a little defense for you. And he's definitely the guy who's so wrapped up in being a superstar that he takes just way too many shots, as you can tell from his 19.6% usage rate. Fucking jackass.

'62-'63 Celtics - 6 wins in 8 days, Jan 24 to Jan 31; 6 wins in 7 days, Feb 15 to Feb 21 (especially impressive as they traveled from Providence RI to St. Louis to Chicago to Boston to Detroit to San Francisco in that span to accomplish it)

It's hard to like the season Jodie has been having this year, but I definitely like him as a person. He's always described as extremely hard working and he has always proven the doubters wrong. In Kentucky he was one of their minor recruits (3 stars) coming out of high school. He was said to be a slasher who couldn't shoot the ball. But then he shocked the nation with his 54 point outburst against Tennessee and he went on to have one of the best seasons in Kentucky basketball history in his Junior year. And look at him now, being able to drain 3's in the NBA.

You should watch Collins' post game, it's pretty funny actually. Collins said Meeks came in to talk to him, to see if he was doing something wrong, then just sort of asked Collins if he could run the play for him they used to run last year. Said they ran it tonight 4 or 5 times and he hit shots on it.

I remember mentioning at some point during the Knicks game thread that they were already playing 4 on 5 w/ Battie out there, so to have Jodie just out there and not be running any curls or screens for him, what was the purpose for him to even be on the floor? Especially w/ all the one on one going on.

Funny that he asked to run just one thing for him. Like, why wouldn't they be running it anyway as successful as he was at times last year? Odd.

I think it's an issue because it's inequitable. I think players resent getting removed from the floor in embarrassing fashion for one or two mistakes when they watch their teammates make 5 mistakes and remain on the floor.

Nope, not one bit, not when the players continue to see the success they're having. I think it's as much a non-issue as Speights getting traded was to them. I haven't seen an instance of where he's "been too hard" on any player. Those players have been explained what's expected of them and their roles, so if anything, there are players that have been too hard on their own selves.

We need to have at least a 5-6 game lead in the Atlantic by the end of this 18-of-22 at home run...it should be 3 games after tonight.

A three game lead over the Celtics AND Knicks after 11 games. Whew.

I do think that Thorn needs to think about finding another cheap frontcourt body before the deadline. I know that we were talking about Wallace yesterday, but I have to think we can come up with something better than Battie to have in case we need another big in April and May.

The Sixers are only the fourth NBA team in the shot-clock era (1954 to now) to allow fewer than 90 points while winning each of their first five home games in a season. The others: the 1995-96 Nets, 2002-03 Pistons and 2004-05 Spurs. Source: Elias

I didn't see the game. Probably for the best because I might've thrown something after seeing Jrue get taken out after less than 2 minutes. The double standards are just really aggravating. Obviously Meeks had a great game yesterday, credit where credit is due. But Meeks had about 9 terrible starts before last night, and he never got yanked at the 1:44 mark. Not cool.

For Collins (as most coaches) the worst issues are sloppy turnovers and bad shots early in the shot clock. That's when coaches do the hooks. Meeks is not very turnover prone nor doea he take bad shots. That's why in Collins eyes there is no reason to teach him a lesson. Statistically he was supposed to start hitting them.

I have no problem with Collins reaction because Jrue was absolutely disastrous to start the game. He deserved the hook.

I think Collins has done a much better job at managing his intensity with the Sixers compared to his previous jobs, which is why i am not that worried about that. He lets his assistents do most of the work at practice, he frequently stops himself from overreacting during games, he praises guys all the time in front of the media... He looks like he has learned from his past mistakes. The most interesting part to me is how his face turns red, when he is mad at a bad play, but instead of yelling, he puts his head between his hands and looks towards the floor. He clearly has worked on this (anger management sessions? lol) and i think it's working.

And perhaps the most important thing is, this is simply a group of players that really want to win and trust his judgement. I get the feeling that these guys (with the exception of maybe Turner) really like Collins as a coach.

Some thoughts from attending my first game of the season last night:
- Enjoyed the Philadelphia orchestra / American Idol girl national anthem. I thought she did a fantastic job.
- I like the starters coming out of the tunnel during the opening announcements. It's a very cool concept to integrate at a pro NBA game, looks especially great in person with them emerging out of the smoke. I also liked the confetti cannons after the win.
- Wasn't thrilled with the new PA announcer, disliked the 'That's Thad' comment after any Thad Young play.
Nothing to do with ownership or the team, but it's a sad indication of our society that by far the loudest the crowd got was in preparation for winning a free Big Mac. Sure, cheer about clogging your arteries. Our nation's health habits bother me.
Overall, had a great game experience. I'll definitely be heading back for more games this season.

Yeah, 4.5/2.7 A/TO doesn't get it done at the point. Is playing undisciplined basketball. Has streaks of impressive play, but looks scatterbrained at times. Collins yankin' him was the correct message. Jrue has a long future ahead but I'll still take the little guy in Denver.

Eh, bumps in the road are not abnormal or unusual for a 21 year old. He'd still only be a senior in college making mistakes too. Concerned for him to do more thinking instead of reacting on the floor now? yes. Career stall? no.

yeah, i'm with you. It's a bit concerning to me too just from the angle I can't seem to place a finger on why it's/what's happening. Even if he's playing more off the ball in a different role that doesn't explain why he's been so loose and careless with the ball at times. Not to mention his questionable decision making.

I may be wrong, but seems I vaguely remember him having a really bad stretch of terrible play last year too, no? Like an 8-10 game stretch or so.

It's possible it happened last year, and in his second year, with a new coach, that's fine, but for me it's about progression. Thaddeus and Spencer have shown (so far) some prorgression in a positive direction, so has Evan Turner...to what degree is debatable, to the extent that they can be maintained (Spencer I think no, not at this level, thad and evan yes, maybe even better) also something to look for as the season progresses, but Jrue, so far, hasn't shown progression to me, and if the pipe dream of obtaining Dwight Howard as a free agent is to come true, Jrue's progression is important.

The Sixers racked up five 20-point wins this season within their first nine games. That hasn't happened in the NBA since 1969-70, when New York registered six 20-point wins in its first nine games and went on to take the championship. The 1966-67 Boston Celtics are the only other team in NBA annals to achieve the feat.
From his weekend dime published Friday

Jrue hasn't been "bad" but it's understandable that people who had aspirations of him being an All-Star caliber player would be disappointed.

I like that he's increased his 3pt attempts while maintaining a respectable percentage; not thrilled that his A:TO his decreased; he's a part of what can be a stifling perimeter defense - in total a good young player who's a big part of a team that's playing really good basketball.

To me the problem is he's not showing progession, I don't care about all star nonsense, I care about getting better, and overall, I don't see him getting better, he seems to be more careless with the ball, his 'will' (or whatever) to shoot the ball changes from game to game and he still seems baffled when dribbling into a crowd of people...